Issaquah advances ITS work; feasibility study set for adaptive traffic signals

Transportation Engineering Manager John Mortensen updated the Mobility and Infrastructure Committee on the City of Issaquah—s work implementing the city—s Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) plan, describing hardware upgrades, staffing gaps and a staged evaluation of adaptive traffic signal control.

Mortensen told the committee the ITS plan, approved by the City Council about two years earlier, sets a mission to “improve safety, health, security, and movement of goods, services, and people for all modes of transportation” and established six goals that include improving safety, providing traveler information and integrating ITS with regional partners.

The administration—s assessment of existing conditions found that roughly half of the city—s ITS and signal-control devices had reached the end of their useful life; the communications network operated at about 10% of the speed needed to support proposed devices and lacked redundancy; many field devices could not send centralized performance data; and staff time was consumed by reactive repairs, producing substantial overtime costs. Mortensen said those findings informed a plan to move from a reactive system to a managed system and, ultimately, an optimized signal network.

On staffing, Mortensen said one recommended reclassification (to a senior electrician and programmer) was completed but several positions the ITS plan proposed were not funded in the 2025–26 biennial budget. The positions not retained included a transportation systems analyst (to manage performance data), conversion of a transportation program coordinator from limited-term to full-time, a third traffic signal technician, and a half‑time ITS network administrator. Emily Moon, Public Works Director, told the committee that only one ITS-related position was funded for the biennium and it remains vacant.

Mortensen described a two‑phase feasibility study for adaptive signal control. Phase 1, a high‑level screening using third‑party connected‑vehicle and cellphone "big data" on seven corridors, will be presented to the committee in 2026. Phase 2, scheduled for 2027, will collect traffic counts and perform a benefit‑cost analysis using Federal Highway Administration methods to support grant applications and corridor‑specific go/no‑go decisions. Mortensen emphasized that adaptive control is one component of ITS and not universally appropriate: corridors with very predictable flows, extreme congestion or conditions unfavorable to pedestrians may not be good candidates.

Mortensen highlighted several ongoing and near‑term projects: a video‑analytics pilot (camera‑based near‑miss detection) that began in 2024 at East Lake Sammamish Parkway and Issaquah‑Fall City Road, and for which the city secured a Washington State Department of Transportation grant to expand to 14 additional intersections in 2026; an implementation plan to roll out leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) on tier‑1 pedestrian corridors in 2026 (contingent on the mobility action plan and transportation element of the comprehensive plan); upgrades to traffic signal controllers (completed) and cabinets (scheduled through 2029); camera upgrades expected by year‑end; replacement of dynamic message signs with construction planned for 2026; and a citywide shift from in‑pavement loops to radar detectors for detection that better senses bicyclists, performs in fog, and reduces pavement disturbance.

On communications infrastructure, Mortensen said the IT division is compiling an inventory and map of the network (expected 2027) that will inform a redundancy and expansion design; extending fiber to the Public Works campus will reestablish a WSDOT connection. He said several ITS projects (a signal performance measurement pilot, an MOU with WSDOT, and a high‑resolution data extraction policy) are contingent on hiring a new traffic signal engineer and adding a transportation systems analyst, positions that remain unfunded or vacant.

Committee members pressed staff on objectives and timelines. Council Member Ray asked what the feasibility study should learn; Mortensen said it will identify corridors where adaptive signal control is cost‑effective and where it is not, enabling informed, grant‑ready project proposals. Mortensen estimated a best‑case schedule in which detailed design could begin in 2028 and installations could occur by 2030 if the city funded deployment directly; relying on external grants would extend that timeline.

Members praised the video analytics expansion and staff—s progress despite limited personnel. Several members noted safety and liability benefits from near‑miss detection and urged clear, structured pilot objectives and robust community outreach.

What happened next: the committee took no final policy vote at the meeting. Staff will present the adaptive feasibility screening to the Transportation Advisory Board and return to the committee for corridor selection and next steps in 2026.